Thanks to a group of law students at Wake Forest University, a sentencing error was corrected and Marchello Bitting walked out of jail last week. Such victories underscore the importance of the innocence projects at our state's law schools, which are playing a crucial role in criminal-justice reform.
"I don't know what to say I'm so happy," said Bitting, 38.
Bitting, convicted of the attempted armed robbery of a convenience store in January 2002, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. But that sentence was based in part on inaccurate information, the Journal's Paul Garber and John Hinton reported. Court officials believed that the crime was committed while Bitting was on probation in South Carolina or North Carolina.
Bitting was eventually referred to the Wake Forest University School of Law's Innocence and Justice Clinic, which works with the school's innocence project. Third-year law students Caitlin Torney and Emile Thompson found that Bitting had completed the terms of his sentences on convictions of larceny and driving while impaired when the attempted robbery occurred here. Given that, his sentence should have been about eight years.
Bitting has always maintained his innocence in the attempted robbery. A jury found him guilty. Some critics might say it's no big deal whether he served eight years or 10. But an extra two years in prison is a long time. And it should matter to all of us when mistakes like this are made.
Fortunately, the movement for criminal-justice reform is growing stronger in North Carolina. It includes innocence projects at the law schools at public and private universities in North Carolina. The N.C. Center on Actual Innocence, a nonprofit organization, coordinates the work of these projects.
The reform movement also includes prosecutors such as Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill, who handled the Bitting case in 2002, when he was an assistant district attorney. After Carol Turowski, a co-director of the justice clinic, informed O'Neill of the error in Bitting's sentencing, he quickly met with her and her students and filed a motion for appropriate relief. Superior Court Judge William Wood granted that motion, and Bitting was released.
O'Neill said Monday that he doesn't remember how the sentencing error was made, but "it's important that the public has confidence in our office. If something is brought to light, or if a sentencing error is made, we always try to do the right thing and correct it as soon as possible. It's important that people know we're going to do the right thing, whether it's before trial, during trial or even after trial."
An error was made but corrected. That doesn't always happen in other cases. Whether the issue is an innocent person in prison or someone receiving an inappropriate sentence, we should all demand a better criminal-justice system.
The innocence projects at our universities are leading the way.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement